Today is My Blogiversary!

It's the one year anniversary of Trash To Treasure Decorating, but I've been so swamped this week, that I haven't been able to do anything special. That makes me sad. So for today's What Would You Do Wednesday, I'm asking you, what's a great way to celebrate a blogiversary?

Should I have some sort of give-away? How can I do something special for my readers that doesn't break the bank? (I really need to find me some sponsors, don't I !)It's hard to believe a whole year has already gone by.

Anyway, I'm thankful for all of my loyal readers. You're the ones who inspire me to keep coming up with new projects! Thank you for all of your reader mail. I love getting your messages and hearing your ideas and encouragement.

Right now, I'm in the midst of prepping for a speaking engagement where I will be doing one 45 minute session on T2T decorating and then several other sessions and some singing. It's fun putting all of my recent pictures into my power points. I've also found some terrific redneck recycled decorations that will give my audience a good laugh. Even men are getting into their own version of T2T decorating. 

Happy Anniversary to T2T!

Inspiration Monday

I shot this photo out of my office window (thus the screen visible in the photo). My flower gardens draw hummingbirds and birds, a great place for relaxing and thinking. Sometimes, it's so tempting to quit my work in the office to go rest in the chair.

Imagine yourself in this chair. What inspired thoughts come to mind as you sit back in the chair, close your eyes, and listen for ideas?

Follow Friday

Time for another Follow Friday. It's been a few weeks since we had one. Stop by and leave a link to show what you're cooking up or crafting up for fall. Or share what you're posting on your blog in memory of 9/11 this week.

Guess what? In just a few days, I'll be celebrating my blogiversary. My first year of T2T blogging! Now I have to think of some way to celebrate.

Follow Friday Blog Hop

Blog Hop Instructions:

• Be sure to link to a specific blog post not your home page so that we can find your fab projects and posts easier. 
• It's always courteous to include a link to my site in  your blog post  OR Mention on your twitter account that you're linking up to Trash to Treasure for the blog hop and include a hyperlink to this post. If you tweet a link please mention my twitter name: @trash2treas in your tweet.
• That's it! Now it's time to use the linky tool below to link up a blog post and a photo thumbnail.

Transformation- Faux Finished Cabinets

This summer, I took on a huge project as a volunteer at the Bible camp where my husband works. They've been building a new cabin from mostly donated materials that were salvaged from buildings being renovated and torn down. This meant that we needed to come up with a way to make it all look as though it belonged together. Not an easy thing if materials come from multiple sources.

The lower level of the cabin is an apartment suite for our guest speakers, so it has a sleeping room, private bath, and an open kitchen and living area.

I got to choose the colors for paint, flooring and counter tops and then I worked on the laborious process of taking white cabinets and making them look more in tune with the flavor of the warm pecan and cappuccino colored paints. Today, for Transformation Tuesday, I'll walk you through the process.

 The counter top picture was not the final one. We used a scrap for sink fitting purposes and the real counter top arrived after I'd completed the painting process.

 The peninsula provided a challenge since the back side would be facing the sitting area.

This pantry is on the wall where the refrigerator would go. It shows the cappuccino color really well.

 This shot of the doors spread out for priming shows the pecan color on the accent wall.
Once I removed all of the hardware, I primed everything with a 123 primer by Zinsser.
I  used a water-based paint, but thinking back, it might have been smart to have chosen to sand the cabinets a little to rough them up and use an oil base primer for a little better guarantee of adhesion. It worked as it was, but I had to be so careful not to scratch them at all until the final protective coat was on. These cabinets were almost more like vinyl coated than painted, so they were pretty shiny when I started out.

After priming, I began the faux finish with the same steps I used in my lamp tables. My goal was to end up with a dark, antique or old world finish. I used the same pecan color on the base coat that I used on the accent wall. Then I used a glaze mixed with a dark brown paint to streak on (with wiping and a brush) over the top. Once the paint and glaze had cured for a week (not necessary but with the humidity I wanted it good and dry), I gave everything three coats of oil based polyurethane. You can use water base poly, but since we already had the oil on hand and I was working with a camp budget, I used that. If you're going over a lighter color, be aware that oil poly can yellow.

And now for the after pictures...

This is the back that I mentioned that faces the living/sitting area. I kept the white ceramic door knobs for now just because we can't afford to replace them until I find a deal that fits the camp budget. since the sink and refrigerator are white, the contrast is okay.

The base trim under the cabinets hasn't been installed yet, but I couldn't wait to show the finish!

Once the varnish is cured, I like to finish everything with a paste wax from Minwax. It helps take away any tackiness in humidity and if you have any tiny paint bubbles, you can sand with a little super fine grit sandpaper and polish with the wax. Makes it smooth as, well, you know.

 I love it so much that I wish it was my kitchen. I really like the stone look on the laminate counter tops. (Again, imagine that the baseboard fronts are in place along the floor). Speaking of floor, do you like what I asked the flooring guys to do? I asked if they could randomly scatter a lighter tile among the dark ones without a geometric pattern. I like how it turned out.

 

By making over what was donated and keeping it from a landfill, this was a trash to treasure success. Combining it with new counter tops and flooring, this is a budget friendly makeover you can do it your kitchen too. Just be prepared for investing some time in the layers it takes to get a faux finish right.

My next project is taking some 80's 2x4 pine furniture that was donated and giving that a similar makeover to the cabinets. That will complete the eat-in area of the kitchen.

I'm linking this post to "Look What I Made Day" at Creations by Kara.Check out other great project ideas on her site.

I'm also linking up to "Best DIY Projects of September" on Beneath My Heart link party. 

Photo of the Week

When I spoke at a conference recently, I had to walk up and down this little alley way several times each day. The narrow passage framed by a large rose garden made it feel somehow European, even though I've never been there. It inspired me to slow down, take my time and enjoy the sensation it gave to walk the corridor. That's where ideas and inspiration are born, in stopping for a moment to think.

Here are some other scenes from the conference that made me stop and enjoy...

Low Cost T2T Yard Decoration

I was driving along on my way to a speaking engagement and spotted this trash to treasure idea along the road. I always take my camera with, so I swung over and zoomed in. If you're the owner and reading this, I hope I didn't freak you out pointing a zoom lens at your home.

Next time you get your tires changed out, maybe you'll want to use them for a no-cost yard decoration. Or maybe not. But I give it an A+ for creativity.

What Would You Do With This Wednesday

I took a week off of blogging last week to catch up on some things. Now, I'm a blogging maniac this week on all of my blogs. I hope you've got your thinking cap on and you're ready for another What Would You Do Wednesday. One of my facebook readers shared a link to her blog, and I'd like you to check out one of her antiques for our WWYD idea this week. 

Lyn from L Kells Antiques has this jelly cupboard for sale on her website  and that got me thinking, what would I do with it? Isn't it great?

 And check out the inside:

 (photos from http://lkellsantiques.blogspot.com/)

Let's imagine you purchased this cupboard from Lyn, and I'm sure she'd be delighted if you did, what would you do with it?

Share your comments below and I'll comment back in a week and name my favorite idea.